Average student debt rises to $26,600… but graduate unemployment rate of 8.8% means 10% default on loans within two years

The devastating toll that the sluggish economic recovery has taken on America’s students became clear today as it was revealed that the average graduate from the class of 2011 piled up $26,600 in debt.

That figure is up five per cent from the previous year – and just one third of students managed to finish college without any debt at all.